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News Articles: MacArthur Genius Grant

Anthropologist Amber Wutich embeds in communities only at their invitation — a method she calls 'participant observation.' Much of her work focuses on alleviating water insecurity.

This expert on water scarcity would never call herself a 'genius.' But MacArthur would

Amber Wutich, an anthropologist and newly minted 'MacArthur genius,' says water scarcity is a human-caused problem that requires human-generated solutions.

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By:
  • Max Barnhart
The artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons is one of this year's MacArthur fellows. Her sculptures, paintings, installations and photography are displayed in over 30 museums around the globe. When she got news of the s0-called "genius grant," she says, " I was running room to room in the house, feeling a sense of terror and elation."

MacArthur 'genius' makes magical art that conjures up her Afro-Cuban roots

One of this year's MacArthur fellows — the so-called 'genius grant' — the artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons is inspired by her family's African roots, her Cuban childhood and modern American life.

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  • Malaka Gharib
Artist Jeffrey Gibson will represent the U.S. at the Venice Biennale in 2024, the first Indigenous artist to have a solo exhibition in the U.S Pavilion at the international art event.

In a first, the U.S. picks an Indigenous artist for a solo show at the Venice Biennale

The U.S. State Department selected Jeffrey Gibson to create an installation for the U.S. Pavilion at the prestigious international arts event.

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By:
  • Chloe Veltman
Priti Krishtel, a 2022 MacArthur fellowship winner, says of her work to create fair drug prices for the world: "I just don't think that people's ability to heal should depend on their ability to pay." Her father worked in the pharmaceutical industry and inspired in her a love of science and finding cures.

This MacArthur 'genius' grantee says she isn't a drug price rebel but she kind of is

Health justice lawyer Priti Krishtel doesn't believe your ability to heal should depend on your ability to pay. Her mission is to reform the patent system that drug companies use to block competition.

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By:
  • Max Barnhart
This year's 25 MacArthur Fellows will each receive $800,000, a "no-strings-attached award to extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential," according to the MacArthur Foundation <a href="https://www.macfound.org/programs/fellows/strategy">website</a>.

An ornithologist, a cellist and a human rights activist: the 2022 MacArthur Fellows

This year's MacArthur Fellows include scientists, artists and historians. The so-called MacArthur "geniuses" receive unrestricted grants of $800,000 for their "exceptional creativity" and "promise."

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By:
  • Elizabeth Blair
Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera, the first married couple to win MacArthur grants at the same time

Latino Filmmakers Are The First Married Couple To Win MacArthur Grants In Same Year

Filmmakers Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra are both winners of MacArthur Genius grants this year. The married couple do separate but related work dealing with immigration and migrant labor.

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By:
  • Mandalit del Barco
Trevor Bedford, a computational virologist, has been named a MacArthur Fellow for his work on SARS-CoV-2. His early reaction: "Scary."

Trevor Bedford: Two Astounding Awards For Virologist Who Raised Early COVID Alarms

He's had quite a September. Bedford has just been named a MacArthur Fellow and was also awarded a $9 million, 7-year grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for his work on the pandemic.

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By:
  • NPR Staff